If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Hey, Mary! Nice job!! I'm so excited to see we've got another member on the road to certification!! Woohoo!

Okay, here are my observations...
I would pull #11 - not the strongest of your samples, and the blacks aren't very black (at least not on my monitor), if you keep this one, I might recommend either pumping up your blacks or maybe even trying it as b/w (and still pump up your blacks)
I think #3 is stronger than #13 (same bride, right?)
#17 - I would remove the 2nd catchlight from the eyes
#18 - she's got a little dab of shine on her nose that I would take out... it caught my attention right off the bat.
I would not use #24

Here is Keith's second half. I will return with the first half. It's very helpful & I appreciated the time he took.

#16 - her skirt is the brightest thing in the image, Burn it down a little and make sure you haven't lost detail anywhere.
#17 Fine
#18 - not your strongest. Those pinpoint catchlights and generally flat light on the face tells me it was probably an on camera flash. I think the review panel would like to see a more advanced lighting set up or an understanding of using available light as it exists outdoors
#19 Fine - looked flat on my old laptop, looks fine on this moniter
#20 Fine, teeth are maybe a little overworked - just SO white, maybe back that off a bit
#21 Good - make sure her forhead hasn't blown out - can't tell on this moniter
#22 My favorite of the whole bunch - crop off the extra lamp on the left side. If it was in front of her I would say leave it, behind her - draws the eye away too much. You are losing details in the shadows but here that is an obvious artistic choice not a mistake so I have no problem with that
#23 I like the idea, I am afraid there are some issues. The couple appears soft. In this contemporary style I feel they should be tack sharp. Also I think I would have liked this better with the couple on the left hand side and then they would be balanced by the window on the right. As it is both visually heavy elements are stacked on top of each other. This might work with a larger window that framed the couple but as it stands there is no compsoitional relationship between the window and the subjects.
#24 - very similar but not as good as several other H&S bridal images you already have. I would leave it out.

I would put #22 as the first image - lead with a strong image- and #21 as the last- end strong. Then interspace images like 4 & 5 throughout. You have a real mix of styles going on here from traditional to a more contemporary graphic look. By intermingling the different styles throughout it won't look like like two totally different photographers whose work got placed together in one portfolio. Instead hopefully it will be viewed as versatality.

#1, #7 & #8 are all very similar - tight H&S on bride. one of the things they look for is showing you have a range of abilities througghout the complete folio. #1 is underprinted and the skin looks overprocessed.
#2 the highlights are blown in her dress, check to see if they have detail on the original file
#3 is stronger than #13. On 13 she looks mad, not serious or conteplative.
#4 is interesting and story telling but does not demonstrate any control or understanding of light and composition. I think printing it deeper would help.
#5 breaks a lot of "rules" but with a reason for doing so, not just from lack of understanding. Watch out that you don't get an orange bleed into her skin and dress from the background
#6 is weak, The effect appears to be used to cover up a focus problem and the color looks like available light under florescent lighting.
#7 under printed and the flowers are too far out of focus and too dominate for being out of focus, Crop out at least half the flowers and print deeper
#8 - I would leave it out - totally blown out in lower left corner will kill it
#9 Cute - again way too light
#10 & #15 are the same . I am concerned by the cut out look around the dog and boy - makes me think background is overexposed or overworked, could be issues with this moniter I guess
#11 Ok - I wish dad wasn't so soft, he is in the same plane as the baby so he should be just as sharp. Again - too light but not as bad as some.
#12 fine
#14 is fine- maybe a little overworked - or if it's a painter image it is incompletely done.
#16 - No leave this one out - just too many technical issues.

As a rule if a print is weak it will make the reviewing panel look more closely at the rest of the images to see if they are similarly weak.